Worth Any Risk

Ch. 15 Old, Broken Things

*Jordan

My shaking legs nearly give out, but I manage to reach Cole's bumper and I sit. I breathe. I just breathe. No matter how much I wish I could lash out or tell Eryn off, or even punch her in the face, I always freeze when I see her.

She looks exactly like Trey, but the female version. Same hair, eyes, skin, pinch to the nose as if everything around them was disgusting.

How did I ever fall for him? Why did I do this to myself? Damn it. Teenagers should be locked in towers until they are twenty. Instead, you make one horrible mistake as a kid and it follows you for the rest of your life. I'm still paying for believing he loved me.

Eryn loves to rub my face in my misery. My stomach turns and I pray I won't throw-up in the parking lot. My nerves are raw, my emotions at the surface. What is wrong with me? Usually, I can keep my feelings under lock better, but with Cole in town and the things we've shared, I'm too sensitive. Weak.

I glance up, hoping he's on his way. He is at their table, his barely contained fury visible across the parking lot and through the glass window. Is he going to start a fight?

My heart flips at the thought. A few years too late, but I'd take him as my knight in shining armor.

Just as I decide to go back, he leaves the table and gets the food boxed. He strides through the doors and towards me like he owns the town. I could jump his bones right there, if it wasn't illegal. Instead, I uncurl my body to stand up and hold my hands out for my breakfast. "What happened in there?"

"Not much. I had a couple of things to say. You all right?"

I roll my shoulders a couple of times and the nausea fades. "Yeah. I'm okay. Better now you've brought the rest of my pancakes." I try to joke, but he pulls me in a one arm hug to whisper in my ear.

"I'm not sure what her problem is, but she should steer clear from you for now on. I gave her a few good reasons to keep her mouth shut."

I nod, unable to speak. He defended me.

"Let's get out of here, what do you say?"

I head for the passenger side of the car and crawl in. The sun is above the tree line by now and the world is gold and warm. Cole cocks his head to study me, and the light glints off his tussled, dark hair and scruffy chin and cheeks. Fine lines crinkle at his eyes and his wide hands rest on the steering wheel.

My heart is about to burst. I'd never tell him, but the crush I once had is back and thousand times worse, because the man he has become is strong, caring, and absolutely fearless.

"You froze back there. It scared me. Are you sure you're all right?"

"It will pass," I say. "The problem isn't just that she's his sister. The problem is that I figure there are three people in this town who might know where Trey went with my daughter—Brandon, his mother, and..."

"His sister?" He scratched his chin and starts the car, staring into the diner.

"Exactly. Eryn. Spelled with a y."

"Spelled with a... so it looks like 'y'-rin?" he asks.

"No, Eryn, but y instead of i."

"Why?"

"Yes, with a y."

"No, I asked why."

I laugh, shaking my head. "I have no idea. Because Trey ends in a y, I guess. They wanted the names to be similar. They have a matching 'e', 'r', and 'y'. Cute, you know?"

"Trey and Eryn's parents were worried about them being cute?"

I start laughing harder. It's all so stupid, and completely pointless. I'm not even sure why I brought it up. "I know. Evil incarnate in the cozy town of Winona Bluffs, and they have matching letters in their names."